Sam Shepard Has Passed Away

He was 73.

Sam Shepard, a legendary actor, playwright, and director, passed away yesterday (July 30), according to Broadway World. He was 73 years old.

Though Sam Shepard boasts an impressive lifelong résumé of acting and directing spots, he is best known for winning the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for the play Buried Child. He is also known to the younger generation for his role as Frank Calhoun (Noah's dad) in The Notebook. Among his other accomplishments, he wrote and produced over 44 plays total, along with various other short stories, essays and memoirs. He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Right Stuff in 1983.

Fans have taken to social media to post their final remembrances of the actor and writer, citing the first time they saw him in a show, or what kind of impact he had on their lives. Some are even calling him one of the "greatest writers of all time."

Broadway World also reported that his family "requests privacy at this difficult time." He is survived by his children, Jesse, Hannah and Walker Shepard, and his sisters, Sandy and Roxanne Rogers.